NFL Needs to Suspend Tom Brady

After remaining below the attention of the general public for the past three months or so, the “Deflategate” situation jumped back into the national spotlight when independent investigator Ted Wells released his report on the whole situation.

The results of the investigation were interesting to say the least. Wells seemed to toe the line between saying the Patriots knew what they were doing but not flat out saying they had cheated. The report kept using the phrase “more probable than not,” drawing the ire of many.

But the biggest thing to come out of the release of the report was the fact that it seemed to implicate quarterback Tom Brady that he was aware of all of this. The report contained text messages between the locker room attendant and equipment assistant that mentioned Brady and complaints about how Brady liked the balls inflated.

So basically the report has all but admitted that Brady broke the rules by deflating the balls. Now that in itself wouldn’t be the cause of many, including myself, calling for him to be suspended. Instead, Brady has lied what knowledge he had about it and stood in defiance to the NFL, and that is why Brady should be suspended for a considerable amount of time this season.

For a comparison, the NCAA, even as bad as that organization might be, suspended receiver Dez Bryant for 10 games for lying about having a dinner with Deon Sanders, not the actual dinner itself. Organizations don’t like to be lied to. Sure what Bryant and Brady did might be illegal, but straight up admitting it would have avoided the massive backlash.

At the same time, the NFL has to take a stand against Brady and all of this. From the report, Brady deliberately had the balls deflated to an illegal pressure and then lied about it to everyone and has his agent and his dad trying to keep it up. And if the NFL fails to suspend Brady for a substantial period of time, the league will take another perception hit.

Now, as I said earlier, the action of deflating the balls isn’t terribly bad, though it is the Patriots, and shouldn’t warrant a suspension. The benefits of deflating a football don’t have too much significance in determining the winner of a game.

But the lying part of it and even the verbal attacks from Brady’s agent and his father certainly justify a lengthy suspension from the league. And if the league fails to do just that, it might just be a tale-tell sign about who’s calling the shots in the league office.